Mark Zuckerberg gave a keynote presentation at Mobile World Congress, suggesting that the likes of Google and Facebook get too much credit for connecting the rest of the world to the Internet.
Instead, he says, it's the telecom operators that should be getting the credit instead of Facebook, with Internet.org, and Google, with Project Loon.
"We can help, because Facebook is one of the primary apps people want to use," said Zuckerberg during his presentation. "But it's important not to lose sight of the fact that the real companies that are driving this are the operators and all the investments they're putting together."
Zuckerberg's kind words towards operators are part of Facebook's continued effort to calm telecom operators' fears, with these operators saying that companies like Google and Facebook are taking advantage of carriers' mobile networks. The idea is essentially that Facebook and Google do not have to invest in the extremely expensive infrastructure behind the Internet and mobile networks.
They also suggest that Facebook, which holds a significant market share in mobile messaging through WhatsApp, does not face the same tough regulations that telecom operators might. Messaging is one of the ways that telecom providers make the bulk of their money; however it's also one of the things that Facebook, through Internet.org, wants to offer for free.
Google recently announced that it was working towards launching its own mobile service, with Zuckerberg saying that Facebook would be very willing to work with Google in creating potential deals, especially when it comes to emerging markets.
"When we launched the Internet.org app in Zambia with our operator partner there, one of the apps we launched with was Google Search, because search is an important product and piece of functionality people around the world want," continued Zuckerberg. "I would love to do more with them, and Sundar [Pichai, senior Vice President of Google] talked about their apps being more in partnership with Internet.org."
Despite Zuckerberg's words, it is hard to imagine Internet.org, Facebook's initiative to connect the world through the Internet, even being in existence without Facebook.
While we could see Facebook and Google partner in areas like connecting emerging markets, the two companies are still locked in fierce battles in other markets, particularly in advertising. Both companies also face continued scrutiny surrounding how they handle users' personal data.
Despite telecom providers' fears, there's no denying that the likes of Google and Facebook are offering great services and connectivity to those that wouldn't otherwise be able to afford it.
Photo: Justin Sullivan | Getty Images
